Fixing Email Field Validation Bug On GreenCity Employee Page

by JurnalWarga.com 61 views
Iklan Headers

Introduction

In this article, we're diving deep into a critical bug identified on the Employee page of the GreenCity application. The issue revolves around email field validation during employee updates, where the system incorrectly accepts a single character input instead of enforcing the minimum required length of three characters. This article provides a detailed analysis of the bug, including the steps to reproduce it, the expected and actual results, and its implications. So, let's get started and explore this issue together, guys!

Environment and Reproducibility

This bug was discovered in a specific environment: Windows 10, using the Chrome browser version 138. The good news (or bad news, depending on how you look at it!) is that this issue is consistently reproducible. This means that every time you follow the steps, you'll encounter the same outcome. The build where this bug was found is based on the latest commit from the GreenCity repository. This helps us pinpoint the exact version of the application where the problem exists.

Key Environment Details

  • Operating System: Windows 10
  • Browser: Chrome 138
  • Reproducibility: Always
  • Build Found: Last commit from the GreenCity repository

Preconditions and Steps to Reproduce

Before we can reproduce the bug, there are a few preconditions that need to be met. Firstly, you need to be logged in as an administrator. This ensures you have the necessary permissions to access and modify employee data. Secondly, you need to navigate to the Employees page within the GreenCity application. Once you've met these preconditions, you can proceed with the following steps to reproduce the bug:

  1. Open Postman, a popular API testing tool.
  2. Send a request to the update employee endpoint: https://greencity-ubs.greencity.cx.ua/admin/ubs-employee/update-employee
  3. When updating an employee's email, use only a single character as the email input.

By following these steps, you should be able to consistently reproduce the bug.

Expected vs. Actual Result

The core of any bug report lies in the discrepancy between the expected and actual results. In this case, the expected result is a 400 HTTP status code. This code signifies a bad request, indicating that the server has rejected the request due to invalid input data. Specifically, the email field should have a minimum length of three characters, and providing only one character violates this validation rule. However, the actual result is a 200 HTTP status code. This code indicates a successful request, which is clearly incorrect in this scenario. The server is accepting an invalid email format, which can lead to data integrity issues and potential security vulnerabilities.

Detailed Result

  • Expected Result: 400 HTTP status code (Bad Request)
  • Actual Result: 200 HTTP status code (OK)

JSON Response (Actual Result):

{"employeeDto":{"firstName":"A","lastName":"Bananna","phoneNumber":"+380991112233","email":"[email protected]","employeePositions":[{"id":1,"nameUk":"Менеджер послуги","nameEn":"Service Manager"}],"id":20,"image":"https://csb10032000a548f571.blob.core.windows.net/allfiles/90370622-3311-4ff1-9462-20cc98a64d1ddefault_image.jpg"},"tariffs":[{"tariffId":1,"hasChat":true}]}

The JSON response further confirms the issue. The employeeDto object contains an email field with the value [email protected]. While this might seem like a valid email format at first glance, the leading 1 violates the minimum length requirement for the local part of the email address (the part before the @ symbol). This highlights the importance of robust validation on both the client-side and server-side.

Impact and Implications

The acceptance of invalid email formats can have several negative consequences. From a data integrity perspective, it can lead to inaccurate or incomplete employee records. This can cause issues with communication, reporting, and other essential business processes. For example, if an employee's email address is incorrectly stored, important notifications or updates may not reach them.

Furthermore, this bug can create potential security vulnerabilities. While a single-character email address might seem harmless, it could be exploited in more complex attacks. For instance, an attacker could use this vulnerability to inject malicious data into the system or bypass other security measures. Therefore, addressing this bug is crucial for maintaining the overall security and reliability of the GreenCity application.

User Story and Test Case Links

This bug is directly related to the following user story and test case:

  • User story #2780: Email text field (see #4277)

These links provide additional context and information about the requirements and expected behavior of the email field. They also serve as a reference point for developers and testers working on fixing this issue.

Labels and Categorization

To ensure this bug is properly tracked and prioritized, the following labels should be added:

  • Bug: Indicates that this is a defect in the software.
  • Priority (pri: ): A label indicating the priority of the bug (e.g., pri: high, pri: medium, pri: low).
  • Severity (severity: ): A label indicating the severity of the bug (e.g., severity: critical, severity: major, severity: minor).
  • Type: A label indicating the type of bug (e.g., UI, Functional). In this case, it's both a UI and Functional bug.
  • API: Indicates that the bug affects the backend API.

These labels help categorize the bug and ensure it's addressed in a timely and appropriate manner.

Root Cause Analysis (Speculative)

While a definitive root cause analysis would require a deeper investigation of the codebase, we can speculate on some potential causes for this bug. One possibility is that the server-side validation logic for the email field is either missing or incomplete. The validation might be checking for the presence of an @ symbol and a domain, but it might not be enforcing the minimum length requirement for the local part of the email address.

Another possibility is that there's a discrepancy between the client-side and server-side validation. The client-side validation might be correctly enforcing the minimum length, but the server-side validation is not. This can happen if the validation rules are not consistently applied across the application layers.

Proposed Solutions

To fix this bug, several steps need to be taken.

  1. Implement Server-Side Validation: Ensure that the server-side validation logic for the email field enforces the minimum length requirement of three characters for the local part of the email address. This validation should be performed before storing the email address in the database.
  2. Synchronize Client-Side and Server-Side Validation: Verify that the client-side validation rules are consistent with the server-side rules. This will prevent users from entering invalid email addresses in the first place, improving the user experience and reducing the load on the server.
  3. Add Unit Tests: Write unit tests to verify that the email validation logic is working correctly. These tests should cover various scenarios, including valid and invalid email formats, to ensure the fix is robust and prevents future regressions.
  4. Update Documentation: Update any relevant documentation to reflect the correct validation rules for the email field. This will help developers and testers understand the expected behavior and prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.

Conclusion

The email field validation bug on the Employee page is a critical issue that needs to be addressed promptly. By accepting invalid email formats, the system risks data integrity issues and potential security vulnerabilities. The steps outlined in this article provide a clear path for reproducing the bug, understanding its impact, and implementing effective solutions. By prioritizing this fix and following the proposed solutions, the GreenCity application can ensure the accuracy and security of its employee data. Let's make sure we get this fixed, guys, for a smoother and safer GreenCity experience! This detailed analysis should help the development team quickly understand and resolve this issue.

Email field accepts single character instead of minimum 3 on employee page updates.

Fixing Email Field Validation Bug on GreenCity Employee Page